My Journey to Plant Based
Secondary school (high school)
I made the switch to a vegetarian diet when I was 14. It was pretty easy as I had lots of options at the all you can eat cafeteria at my school and my best friend was a vegetarian so I didn’t feel alone. I began to eat lots of bread and cheese as I wasn't educated on what a healthy diet looks like.
I switched schools for the last 2 years of high school where I didn’t have as many options and no healthy options in the cafeteria and I remember just eating cheesy pasta. I knew I wanted to study nutrition and I wanted to be healthy but I didn’t want to stand out and be different so I ate what I could to fit in. All my friends would eat burgers, fries, meat and cheese sandwiches which would make it difficult for me because people would always ask me why I wasn't eating like them. I didn't have any answers or even understand my reasons back then. I just had intuition.
TIMELINE
The Gap Years
I decided to take a gap year to work and travel before attending University. I was working as a waitress up to 12 hours a day multiple days a week. This took it’s toll on me. I didn’t feel as if I had any time to think about nutrition or healthy eating. I didn’t feel as if I had a purpose, I was just working and hoping to get away at some point. I saved up money and travelled to India for 2 months with a friend. This was a big eye opener for me, I learnt a lot about myself and having time while I was traveling made me realize I definitely wanted to study nutrition and make a positive impact on other peoples lives.
I traveled to Australia by myself for 3 months, and again, it strengthened my desire to study nutrition.
University
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I remember sitting in one lecture someone was asked what they had for breakfast, they answered “left over meat pizza from 3am last night”. I was so shocked that the people who had chosen to study nutrition were eating processed, carcinogenic foods. This felt so backwards to me. I felt more alone at University as I was the only person that wanted to eat healthily and acquire the knowledge to do so.
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I was surprised that my fellow nutrition students drank and ate junk food, I thought it would be different but I learnt to accept this.
Switching to a completely
plant-based lifestyle
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When I was 22 I decided to stop eating eggs and cheese. I no longer looked at dairy products how I used to. I just saw them for what they really are - waste products filled with bacteria and hormones. So I decided to become vegan. This process took a little longer than when I cut out meat, but by no means was it difficult. Once I had the knowledge and reasons why, eating this way became second nature to me.
The Green Switch
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In the summer of 2017 something inside me altered again, just like it did when I stopped eating meat and then stopped eating dairy, I chose to eat more raw whole plant foods. I limited and stopped eating processed bars and snacks and consume more greens. I am a lover of smoothies and salads, I never guessed I would be saying this 5 years ago. I’ve always liked them but never craved them like I do now.
Learning about veganism as a whole
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After deciding to eat a mostly raw vegan diet I started to think about the environmental, ethical and humane issues that come with the non-vegan lifestyle. I felt as if I wanted to educate others on how to make the changes that I made and how they too could feel as great as I do eating a highly raw plant based diet.